


Firsts

by TortiTabby



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Adoption, Established Relationship, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Parenthood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2019-09-13 06:58:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16887798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TortiTabby/pseuds/TortiTabby
Summary: A series of firsts in life as parents for Dan and Phil





	1. First Day of School

**Author's Note:**

> Writing this fun little series because I love Parent Phan!  
>   
> 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan struggles with Chloe's first day of school

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for beta reading this for me @maetaurus !

“Are you ready, little monkey?” Phil finished lacing up their four year old daughter’s shoes and pulled her to her tiny feet.

“Don’t hype it up in a way that’s going to scare her, Phil.” Dan chastised from the front door. He watched Phil roll his eyes fondly and whisper something to Chloe who giggled wildy. 

“Hi! My name is-” she held her hands together in a way that didn’t really make anything but Dan got the idea.

“Philip Lester! You better make sure she doesn’t keep on doing that!” 

Phil threw his head back and cackled as he swept their daughter out the front door, pecking a disgruntled Dan on the cheek as he went. 

The three of them made their way to the new car they purchased. Dan was still getting used to the idea of driving. Phil said he had no desire to ever drive it and Dan didn’t really argue.

“It was funny.” He said once Chloe was strapped into her carseat and Phil was securely into the passenger’s. “Plus, you’ve been in a mood for a whole week now.”

“Is that how long it took for you to train her that? Don’t make me teach her how  _ ‘ace’  _ everything is, Lester. I’ll fucking do it.” 

“Language.” Phil reprimanded but it was with a laugh. 

Dan didn’t comment on the bad mood jab. Phil wasn’t wrong and Dan didn’t necessarily want to discuss it. 

He drove his small family to the nursery Chloe would be attending preschool at. It had amazing reviews and she was excited to go but the pit of worry was blossoming in Dan’s gut and he was having a harder and harder time of not letting it show.

“What’s the plan?” he asked Phil quietly, making sure little ears didn’t eavesdrop.

“The plan for what, Dan?” Phil frowned over the rim of his glasses at Dan. It had been too hectic trying to get Chloe ready in time, he hadn’t even attempted to put in contacts.

“When we’re leaving and Chloe freaks out. We can hardly leave her at my mum’s Phil and you know how much she spoils her.”

Phil just shook his head. “I think she’ll be okay.” Dan hummed and ran his thumbs up and down the steering wheel nervously. 

“But,” Phil said after a moment. “If she panics we’re just going to have to sit with her until she calms down and remember it’s just preschool. She’s here because we want her to be not because it’s mandatory. If today doesn’t work we’ll just try tomorrow. I hope she’ll take to it after a bit because I think she’s so smart, Dan. She’s going to really benefit from this I think.”

Dan couldn’t argue. She was a brilliant little girl. Still, he couldn’t shake the worry from his back and it continued to creep up the back of his neck.

“We’re here little Monk’!” Phil exclaimed as Dan pulled into the rain soaked parking spot. 

Phil hurried out of his seat to go into the rain and unfasten Chloe. 

“Excited Chlo?” Dan yelled over the pounding rain. 

She threw her arms up and cheered. The three of them hurried to the front door and made their way inside.

The bright and welcoming colors were a stark contrast to the grayscale that was wet and  dreary London outside. There was something to look at in every corner of the room along with far more kids than Dan expected there to be so early.

“Hello there! You must be Chloe!” A woman with bushy red hair and kind, crinkly eyes bent down to Chloe’s level to greet her. Chloe’s face lit up as they discussed her favorite animals, song, colors and various other favorites that were extremely important and serious business to three year olds. 

“Alright miss Chloe. Why don’t you go skip on over there and visit with Leo. He can show you our special legos we have.” 

Chloe jumped up in excitement and ran across the room to where the lone little boy sat.

The woman laughed and turned to the two of them. 

“I do love when I get a little social butterfly. I think Chloe will do fine here.” She smiled. “If your comfortable to do so I encourage parents to say a brief goodbye without dragging it on too long then leaving immediately. If it doesn’t seem like a big deal to the two of you and she’s over there having fun then ideally it won’t be a big deal for her either.”

She placed a hand on Dan’s arm and shot him a sympathetic look. “This is generally what’s easiest on both parties. I know it’s hard.”

Phil lead the way and placed a hand gentle on Chloe’s small shoulder. 

“Hey me and Daddy are leaving now. We’ll come and get you in just a little bit. Be good and have fun okay?” 

Dan held his breath for the incoming explosion. 

It never came. 

“Bye! I love you!” She quickly hugged a leg of each of theirs before turning back to her newfound friend. It stung more than Dan anticipated.

“I-”

“Dan come  _ on _ !” Phil prompted Dan to head to the door.

Phil pulled Dan away from the door window before he had time to mope and they climbed back into the car in silence.

The heavy rain was deafening as it beat down on the roof of their car. It was as loud in Dan’s ears as it was in his chest. 

He closed his eyes and breathed in a big, heavy sigh before moving to start the car.

A pale hand grabbed the keys and gently pulled them out of his grip.

“She’s okay. They seemed really nice in there and everything I’ve read up has been really great. This is a good thing.” 

“She’s so  _ good _ . She’s such a sweet and happy little girl.” Dan could feel the pressure build between his eyes. 

“I know. She’s happy. I don’t-”

“I’m afraid they’re going to ruin it.” Dan interrupted in a small voice.

Phil let out a laugh Dan knew was involuntary although it was just as unappreciated.

“Dan I think you’re worrying too much. If they make Chloe not be happy or good anymore then we’ve definitely got a problem to address but I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.” Dan could hear that Phil was losing his patience.

“No. Listen Phil, it isn’t the teachers that I’m worried about, okay? It’s all of the other kids.” He took a deep, shaky breath. “Kids are so mean. My mum always talked about how I was the happiest kid she’d ever seen until I went to school and was around other kids. Look how I turned out. My actual branding is dark and dreary and existential but I don’t want it to be like that for her. I don’t want kids to constantly pick on her because she's kind and happy so they think she’s an easy target and-Oof!  _ What _ are you doing!?”

Phil had hastily unfastened his seat belt and left his seat to clamber over the console between them and dumped his body onto Dan’s.  

“You oaf there is hardly room for me in this seat! I don’t think you’re going to fit!”

Phil said nothing and only pressed his lips hard into Dan’s.

“I love you.” He said when he leaned back as far as he could in the cramped space. “Kids are going to be mean. We just have to be there for her. She could be making a friend for life right now.” He brushed some of Dan’s hair out of his face. “Or maybe she’s going to have a life lesson that sucks and hurts but she’ll learn from it and we’ll be there for her the whole time. I’m scared too.”

Dan just nodded and pressed his forehead to Phil’s chest. It was uncomfortable and there wasn’t room for the both of them but Dan was grateful for how grounding Phil’s weight on top of him was. He was right. He always was, it was so annoying.

“I love you too.” He said in a small voice after a few minutes.

“Listen I know we had plans to do some videos but let’s go on a date right now. Go to some fancy restaurant Chloe wouldn’t be able to sit still through and take a nice uncharacteristic walk somewhere touristy.” Phil said.

Dan chased Phil’s lips in response before shoving his chest gently.

“You’re literally killing me. There’s not room.” He laughed.

Phil let out a trademark  _ “Phil Giggle” _ with his tongue poking out of the side of his mouth in the endearing way that made Dan fall somehow even farther in love every time he saw it.

 

They spent the morning perusing London and enjoying each other’s company and ignoring the nagging worry they both had from being away from Chloe. Before they knew it they were pulling back into the parking space to pick her up. Dan rocked on his heels as he waited for Phil to finish getting out of the car. 

“Daddy!” Dan nearly toppled over with the force Chloe ran into his legs with. She gazed up at him with her stormy blue eyes wide and full of unshed tears. She immediately motioned to be picked up and who was he to refuse her?

“Hello!” the kind teacher from before made her way over and pet Chloe’s arm sympathetically. “Chloe here made some new friends and colored this picture here for you guys,” she handed a paper with a colorful scribble on it. “She ate most of her snack. I almost ended up calling you after the first hour she was here she got pretty concerned where you were and was asking for you.” 

Dan’s heart clenched and he squeezed her tight.

“We distracted her with some fun songs we all sang so for a first day I would call it a win!” 

They thanked her with a promise to see her tomorrow morning.

“Is it wrong that I felt a little relieved that she missed us and was upset earlier?” Phil asked once Chloe was tucked in to her bed and fast asleep that night. 

Dan chuckled.

“I don’t think I’m in any position to judge but no, I felt it too.” He smiled over at Phil. “I’m not ready for her to not miss me if I leave the room.” 

Phil agreed before turning the lights off to their bedroom and sliding into the sheets next to Dan. Neither of them were feeling up to anything but sleep after a long emotionally draining day like they had. 

“Hey.” Phil whispered after awhile. “I’m sorry kids were mean. I know it doesn’t feel like it sometimes but I think you turned out pretty damn okay if you ask me.” 

Dan snuggled his head under Phil’s chin, unable to think of a proper response.

“I can’t promise kids will always be nice but she’s got us. Maybe someone else to grow up by her side soon. She’ll be alright.” 

“Yeah.” Dan sighed and tightened his arm around Phil’s middle in thanks.

He couldn’t help think before he drifted off of how funny it was that one of the most challenging days of parenthood so far for him was one he didn’t have to do much parenting at all in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reblog on tumblr [ here!](https://tortitabby.tumblr.com/post/180876021275/firsts-chapter-one-first-day-of-school)


	2. First Trip to the Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil takes his eyes off of Chloe for a just a minute when they're at the park and things quickly go south.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for beta reading this @maetaurus !  
>   
> This series will be ongoing for the foreseeable future. No promises or set schedule but I'd like to update it once or twice a week!  
>   
>   
>   
> 

The sun was shining and Dan was excitable, giddy and full of life that was rivaled only by their giggling toddler that was skipping between them with a hand of theirs in each of hers. Days like these were the kind of days that made Phil excited to wake up in the morning.

Chloe’s strawberry kissed blonde hair shone in the sunlight, it was delicately pulled into the cutest pigtails Dan took the time to precariously pull into bows. It wasn’t often days as breezy and carefree as today came around. One of them was usually tied to something for work and the other doting over their loveable but tornado of a three, almost four, year old daughter. It definitely wasn’t every day that their schedule was free and Chloe didn’t feel like practicing her banshee impression whenever the universe wasn’t exactly how she wanted it to be.

So they celebrated with a family trip to the park they had been visiting for as long as Phil could remember. It was walking distance from their home and was one of Chloe’s favorite places to be. With a cozy little not well known coffee shop just right across the street that felt like a secret treasure in London- it wasn’t too bad for them either. 

“We should have put a hat on her.” Dan muttered. 

Phil laughed and shook his head. “You worry too much. It's barely sweater weather today. I mean the sun is actually out in London for once and plus she's got her winter coat and boots on.” He added after he saw Dan still worrying his bottom lip. 

“We can all get some hot drinks from across the street after?” 

Dan cupped Phil's cheeks with his gloved hands and kissed him squarely between the eyes. 

“I'll just go get the drinks now.” Dan smiled softly at Phil. The winter air chilled his cheeks into a soft rosy color along with the end of his nose. 

“Want some hot cocoa, you little Monkey?” He asked and crouched down to Chloe's eye level. 

She cackled and nodded eagerly in response before tearing away from their hands to start climbing around on the playground. Phil hurried after her. 

“Don't let her climb to the part that's so open! She keeps trying to go up there!” He could hear Dan shouting from behind him but didn't turn around. Phil knew Dan's heart couldn't be more in the right place if he tried but he was aware of how to watch over their daughter himself. It came from a place of love and worry so Phil didn't want to respond and let his minor irritation bleed out and sour their pleasant afternoon. Chloe made it to her favorite slide and giggled wildly as she zoomed towards the ground. She clapped to herself and rushed back to climb the equipment again. 

Phil glanced back in time to see Dan vanishing behind the coffee shop door. 

“Papa look how high I am!” 

Phil looked up to see Chloe indeed making a beeline for the exact spot he should have been preventing her from. 

“Hey that's too far up. Come back down to me, let's go down the slides.” Phil tried to reason. She was a wild child but she almost always listened to them. Especially if they were telling her not to do something out in public. They were generally pretty lucky. Generally.

Today was apparently the day that Chloe decided since she was a whole three years old and didn’t need to listen to her fathers anymore. 

She shook her head angrily and climbed up to the next level. It wasn’t  _ that  _ high, really. It had a large slide on one side of it and an opening for the monkey bars on the other. 

Phil scrambled to climb up to grab her but just as he got close enough to nearly grab onto her puffy purple coat he saw his mistake. 

Chloe got the expression every parent knows and dreads. The  _ “I have decided to do the opposite of what you want me to do and there is more defiance in my tiny body than there is energy in yours”  _ look.

She spun around and made to run away from Phil before he could grab her but her boot slipped and she toppled off of the edge of the playground equipment with a startled shriek before Phil’s mind could piece together what was even happening.

She was so small. It was so high up. He was a terrible father that let his poor baby get hurt. Phil could hardly breathe as he jumped over the edge where she fell and landed by her side. His knees screamed at him for jumping from such a height but he could barely even feel them.

A woman was shouting at him frantically but all he could focus on was Chloe’s wailing red face.

Logically he knew she would survive the little fall. That didn’t stop him from letting out a sigh of relief.

“She should have never been that high up for that age Sir what were you _thinking_? Do you need to call an ambulance? Sir? I’m talking to you? Oh- Excuse me don’t crowd them, that baby just fell from all the way up there-”  
“-Yeah that’s _my_ baby. I saw.” 

Oh  _ no _ .  _ No no no no no.  _ He let her do exactly what Dan told him not to let her do. Dan was right. Phil let her get hurt. Guilt dug a gaping black hole into Phil’s gut. He let his entire family down by not paying attention for a mere  _ second _ .

“Baby, hey, Come here.” Suddenly Dan was there pulling her tiny body close to his chest and shushing her. She let out a startled yelp of pain before bursting into a fresh batch of full on sobs. 

“Phil I think- I think she hurt her arm. We need to do something. Call someone.” Dan ran his fingers through her pretty golden hair and kissed the top of her head. 

Phil stood up and turned away from the scene, careful to avoid eye contact with the woman who was still staring daggers at him.

Phil quickly named off the address of the park and gave a brief rundown of what had happened. He felt sick with shame when he recounted his parenting fail. He looked past his small family and noticed the sidewalk littered with their hot drinks and the cups they were in before Dan apparently dropped them. 

“ _ I saw.”  rang in Phil’s ears. _

Phil tried to imagine being in Dan’s shoes and walking back to where he left them only to see Chloe fall from such a height and nothing to catch her. 

“ _ Phil.”  _ He glanced down at Dan who was clutching on to a still sobbing Chloe. “Are they coming? I need you to stay with me here.” 

“Oh! Yeah!” Phil squeaked. He hurried to crouch down next to Dan and wipe away some of her tears and snot away, years of parenting making him immune to the disgust that once came with similar tasks. “Help’s on the way, Chloe. It’s going to be alright.” 

“I have an owie.” She sniffed sadly at him, after swallowing her tears and calming her shaking breathing. There were still tears rolling down her chubby red cheeks but it seemed as though the sobbing had stopped for now.

“I know Sweetie. Where is it? Your arm?” Dan ran a finger over her left arm with such gentleness it made Phil’s heart ache.

“Yeah.” She whispered. Her big blue eyes shone up at Dan and in any other situation the complete seriousness to her voice and demeanor would be amusing. 

“Okay well we’ll go to the doctor and get you all fixed up, okay?” Phil said.

She nodded again before burying her face in Dan’s jacket. 

Phil turned to Dan for the first time since he returned and opened his mouth to say something before seeing the dangerous glint in his eyes and his mouth stretched into a thin firm line. He was furious. Phil knew he would be but it still stung. 

“Dan, I-”

“Excuse me Ma’am we’ve got the situation under control.”  Phil looked up quickly to see an EMT pushing her way past the tiny audience they acquired. The woman from before looked enraged and glared over at Phil.

“He had no business letting that poor little girl climb so high. This is why people like  _ them  _ shouldn’t be allowed to have children. I should call the cops. It’s as good as neglect, it is! He must not’ve been watching her very closely!”

Phil felt like he was going to be sick. She wasn’t entirely wrong. He should have been keeping a better eye on her. His face grew hot and he busied himself with murmuring quiet encouragements to Chloe. 

“Miss you’re going to have to back away to give us room to work or you’ll be the one endangering this little girl. We have it under control now you can leave.” The volunteer said.

They hurried to check over Chloe before strapping her into a stretcher and hoisting her into the ambulance. 

“We won't know until the hospital but it sounds and looks like a break to me.” She sighed and glanced between them. “I only have room for one ride along.”

“Oh, that’s-”  
“I’ll get a taxi, Phil.” Dan got what hospital they were headed to and walked away before Phil had a chance to respond. There was no time to do much besides climb into the back of the ambulance. The last he saw of Dan out of the tiny back window before they turned the corner was him approaching that awful woman.

_ What was he doing.  _

“Where’s Daddy? Papa I’m scared.” Chloe cried quietly. 

Phil turned away from the window and spent the rest of the ride trying to keep Chloe calm. The EMT’s he was with were kind and helpful and they even turned the siren on for her when she asked. 

 

Before he knew it he was waiting outside of the x-ray room and Dan was jogging up to him clearly out of breath. 

“Phil I have been all over this hospital looking for the two of you! Why didn’t you answer my texts?”

“Oh!” Phil dug around in his pockets before he realized he didn’t have his phone. He ran his hand over his face and groaned. “This is the worst day. I’m sorry Dan I must have left -”  
“I think Chloe’s having a worse day. We’ll deal with your phone later. It’s locked right?”

“Dan I’m not stupid. Of course it’s locked.” 

Dan stopped and stared at Phil and neither of them said anything. Tensions were high and it wouldn’t helping either of them, or Chloe, if they got into it right in the middle of the hospital. 

It still hurt. The vaguest implication that Phil was stupid, that today proved he was  _ so  _ stupid tore and clawed at Phil. 

He thought Dan was silently on the same page that it wasn’t the time or place until he seemingly blurted out of nowhere, “I asked you to keep her away from there.” 

Dan looked as surprised as Phil at his outburst but there wasn’t any taking it back.

It was what they both thought. He wasn’t wrong.

“Dan that isn’t helping any-”

“Hello! Does this little angel belong to one of you?” The nurse smiled and pushed a bed that had Chloe sitting cross legged in the middle of it out towards them.

“Daddy! Papa!” She squealed excitedly and tried to stand up. All three of them rushed to keep her sitting.

“Oh! Both of you.” She laughed and smiled warmly at them before beaming down at Chloe. “Let’s go put you back in a room and the doctor will be with you all as soon as she can.” 

The wait was excruciating. They’ve had to wait in doctor offices before plenty of times and it was never necessarily a good time but it seemed downright wrong when it was a three year old little girl they were waiting to hear about.

Dan had yet to say anything more to Phil which resulted in slightly labored breathing. He had shallow anxious breaths as his lungs refused to accept a reasonable amount of incoming air. His pulse was racing away and his hands were clammy with sweat as he nervously wrung them together. 

“Daddy!” Chloe winced as she tried to move her arms over her head in a grabby motion. Thankfully her injured arm was securely in a sling to her chest but it was going to be near impossible to keep it there for long.

“Hey! You have to sit still okay, bug? She seems to be feeling a bit better, did they give her anything?” Dan asked and looked at Phil for the first time since the spat in the hallway.

“Uh, yeah I don’t remember what it was called.” Phil could feel his face growing hot and the urge to cry tugged at his throat. He was useless today. “It was for pain though. I’m pretty sure.” The ambulance ride had been a blur. 

He braced himself for a fight but only received a small “okay” in response.

“Hello hello! I heard Chloe here took a tumble! I’ll go right into it. I know you’ve been waiting too long already.” Phil sighed in relief at the no nonsense air the doctor carried with her.

“It’s broken but it isn’t too bad. It has a break in the forearm that isn’t too bad. I think she may have tried to throw her arm out to catch herself. It happens all the time, these little ones are wild and you’d be surprised at how often I have one in my waiting room.” Phil let out a small breath that she smiled sympathetically at. 

“Will she need a cast?” Phil asked.

“Yeah, we’ll have to get a cast on it and it’s going to itch and drive her crazy, but it looks like a pretty clean and easy fix. After six to eight weeks it should be all healed up.” She turned to Chloe. “What color cast would you like, beautiful?” 

 

After another painstakingly long hour and a bright sky blue cast along with something for the pain for the next couple of days, Phil was shakily unlocking their front door. Dan had Chloe cradled in his arms, her tiny head dangled over his shoulder and let out a soft snore. 

“She had a long day.” Phil muttered. The day was actually ending and Phil couldn’t be more grateful to see the sun go down.

Dan nodded and scuttled past Phil to put Chloe down in her bed. 

Phil’s chest went tight. He couldn’t handle a fight after the day he had. He was exhausted and angry with himself and he didn’t need Dan harping on him for things he knew he did wrong. 

He quickly grabbed a change of clothes from their room and headed into their on suite bathroom and hopped into the shower.

He closed his eyes and let the frigid water run over his body. It was taking forever to heat up but after the day he had he figured at the very least he deserved an uncomfortable shower.

Just then the shower curtain peeled back. Phil felt immediately defensive. How dare Dan barge into his  _ shower  _ to have a go at him. He made a mistake but he needed this half an hour to scrub the day off of his skin. 

“Dan!” Phil turned to let Dan have a piece of his mind only to find him totally naked and sheepishly setting a baby monitor on the bathroom sink. 

“Can I?” He asked but didn’t wait for a response before gingerly sliding one of his legs in front of Phil.

“Gah!” He lept back out of the shower. “What the fuck! It’s so cold!  _ What are you doing _ ?” He shrieked. 

Phil clapped a hand over his mouth and they both listened for any sign or sound of a cranky three year old waking up.

Dan pushed his hand away and tested the now slightly warm water before hurrying in front of it and sighing. 

Small streams of water traveled down the waves in Dan’s curls and ran off, straight down his nose. He broke into a wide smile behind his fringe that was now flattened against his face. 

Phil tried smile back but it came out forced and strained. 

“You were the best today.” Dan said softly and laced his arms around Phil’s damp torso and pulled him close so they were chest to chest. 

They were both naked but there was nothing sexual about the situation. It was strangely intimate in a way that left Phil feeling exposed and vulnerable. He sniffed at Dan’s words. It was the last thing he expected to hear at the end of the day they’d had. 

One sniff turned into two and before he knew it he had tears running alongside the water from the shower head over his cheeks. He hoped Dan couldn’t tell but a soft squeeze and a scoot closer told him otherwise.

He wrapped his arms tight around Dan’s back and sighed into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry.” He finally said as the water ran cold again and he followed Dan into the towel that was held out for him. “I’m so sorry Dan, you were right and I made such a huge mistake today.”

“Yeah and you handled it like a champ. I would have been a right mess.  _ I was _ . I was angry but I think it’s all I knew how to do right then.” He glanced up at Phil who brushed his curly tendrils out of the way of those lovely eyes. 

“I hate to break it to you Dan but I was a total mess the entire day.” Phil laughed wetly. 

“No. You rode with her and talked to the all of the doctors and called the ambulance and did all of the proper dad things that we needed to do. I just panicked and worried the whole time and told some bigoted woman that she needed to go fuck herself because I lost my entire mind.”

“ _ Dan!” _ Phil howled with laughter. “You shouldn’t have done that” he chastised with a fond smile. “It does make this entire day more bearable somehow though.”

“She wanted to go up to that platform. It was probably just a matter of time, you know how determined she gets. You were just the unlucky one.” Dan said lowly.

Quiet confused groaning came through the static of the monitor by Phil’s elbow. Chloe usually woke up upset if she fell asleep somewhere else and ended up in her bed without knowing how she got there.

“Throw on some pajamas and grab our monkey? If it sounds good to you, I’ll get that hot cocoa we never got to drink and we can have a little movie night in bed and sleep with her in here tonight?” Phil suggested.

“Proper Dad.” Dan repeated with a grin before pulling his Game of Thrones pajamas over his legs and rushing out of the room to collect their daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please comment and let me know what you think!!  
> Reblog [ if you're inclined!! It's much appreciated!](https://tortitabby.tumblr.com/post/180979702355/firsts-chapter-two-first-trip-to-the-hospital)


	3. First "I hate you"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan's sleep deprived from countless nights up with their new son. Phil isn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks @Maetaurus for being my beta!  
>   
> 

Dan was tired. Dan was always tired lately and Phil was never the one to get up with Spencer. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t like this with Chloe. He wasn’t sure what had changed, if anything. Maybe everything seemed worse due to the lack of sleep but if Phil so much as glanced at him in the wrong way it was going to get ugly.

“Daddy!” Chloe screeched. Dan winced and tried to not lose his patience first thing in the morning with her. She had taken to screaming at the top of her lungs even though she had learned not to do so years ago, ever since her little brother came into the picture. Dan knew it was normal and knew it needed patience but patience was a short fuse at the end of a stick of dynamite for Dan that day.

“Chloe. You know better.” Dan chastised his fussy seven year old. “You’re a big girl and I need you to help me with your brother while Papa’s out.” 

Phil had left to get groceries early that morning before Chloe woke up. Dan had already been up with Spencer.

“Papa’s here, Daddy.” Chloe said and gave Dan a quizzical look.

“No, Monkey, he went to the store to get groceries.” What was it about this age that made her argue with everything he said. He could tell her the sky was blue and she’d have an argument ready.

“ _ No. He is downstairs.” _ She said haughtily before turning on her heel and marching her way to the steps. 

Dan followed without a word and sure enough, sat on the couch with a playstation controller in his hand was Phil.

“ _ Phil _ !” 

Phil jumped to his feet. The controller bounced on the ground in front of him.

“Gah! Dan! You scared me!” Phil clutched his chest before laughing quietly. He picked the controller up and set it on the table. “What’s going on? Did you need help with something?” He smiled at Chloe before poking her in the sides. She erupted into giggles before trying and failing to tickle Phil.

“Yeah I need help with parenting, maybe?” Dan snapped. 

Chloe stopped giggling.

 

“Ow. Chloe stop poking me now, okay?” Phil brushed her little hands away from his side. She flopped onto the couch with her arms crossed and glared up at Dan. Great. Now  _ he  _ was the bad guy.

“Daddy maybe you and Spencer can go play and me and Papa can play?” She said in her tiny voice full of sass. She did little to mask her irritation. 

“We can all play, Chloe.” Phil said softly, not taking his eyes off of Dan.

“I don’t want to play with Daddy.” she said simply. 

Spencer started fussing in Dan’s arms.

“Spencer doesn’t want to play with Daddy either.” Chloe muttered spitefully. 

Dan tried to stop the tears from welling up in his eyes. She was  _ seven  _ she was going to say things she didn’t mean that stung and hurt his feelings. Dan knew this but he also didn’t have nearly any sleep in the past week and wasn’t thinking logically. 

“Chlo that isn’t very nice at all. Apologize to your daddy.” Phil said quietly.

“No!” She threw herself against the couch and glared away from Dan. 

“Dan she doesn’t-”

“Stop. I am going up to Spencer’s room. Don’t follow me.” Dan said quietly and as firmly as he could. 

“Dan!” He could hear Phil calling after him but kept stomping up the stairs and into the nursery across from their bedroom. 

Spencer continued to wail against his chest with big, fat tears rolling down his chubby cheeks. 

“Stop crying, please.” Dan begged. 

Teething babies were not something that could be reasoned with, and Spencer just cried louder. 

“Spencer come on! You have to be tired of crying, aren’t you? If I’m tired, you must be exhausted. Just go to sleep.” Dan laid him down in his crib and turned the soft lights and calming music on around it and hoped for the best.

Miraculously it seemed to dull the apparent devastation that was Spencer’s young life and he quieted to a low whimper as he took in the lights and sounds around him.

“Dan?” Phil rapped against the door. He might as well had ran into the room screaming by the way Spencer erupted into fresh, angrier sobs.

Dan ripped the door open.

“What? What the fuck do you want Phil? Is it to act like a dad today? Or just another play date for a daughter while I do  _ everything else?”  _

“Wow Dan. That’s really not fair.” Phil said angrily in a hushed voice.

“Why are you whispering?” Dan threw his arms in the air. “You already fucking woke him back up and he was just barely going back to sleep! Do you know how little he’s slept all week Phil? Or were you too busy  _ playing  _ to notice?”

“Nice, Dan.” Phil said coldly. 

It was about that time that Dan noticed their daughter standing a few feet behind Phil with tears in her eyes.

“I hate you!” She yelled and ran off. Her door slammed in the distance.

“Fuck.” Dan rubbed his hand down his face. “How long was she there for?”

“You mean you didn’t  _ notice _ ?” Phil quipped before turning quickly to go after their daughter. 

All the steam that was fueling Dan left as quickly as it rolled in and he was left standing in their crying baby’s room with their daughter’s hurt voice ringing in his ears.

_ “I hate you.” _

Kids have no filter and he knew she didn’t actually hate him but it still hurt. It hurt more than the sleepless nights or the betrayal of Phil slacking on parental duties. Dan was made painfully aware of how little time he’d gotten to spend with Chloe since they adopted Spencer when he came into the world four short months ago. 

He missed her. He missed her and she hated him. 

He sighed and went back over to Spencer’s crib and cradled his tiny body. He pulled him close to his chest and hummed quietly. That worked on Chloe all those years ago, but Spencer seemed to be immune to it. Still, it calmed Dan down and kept him grounded so he continued to hum lightly and rock Spencer gently in his arms. 

“Sorry we were yelling, Spence.” He said quietly into the fine, dark hair that covered Spencer’s head. It was more than Chloe ever had as a baby and it was soft and ticklish on Dan’s face. 

“You don’t have to stop crying if you don’t want to, bud. I’m going to keep crying and I’ve already been enough of a hypocrite tonight, don’t you think?”

“I think you’re less of a hypocrite and more just tired with an idiot for a husband.” A voice called out from the open door.

Phil leaned against the frame of the door and smiled sheepishly at Dan.

“You okay? You know she doesn’t mean it, right?” Damn Phil for knowing him so well. There went any chance of staying mad. 

Dan rushed to agree, of course he knew she didn’t mean it, of course she’s just a child and he’s a parent and he would hear those hurtful words from her again and again throughout her life as they reached various obstacles. 

Only Spencer was still crying quietly in his arms, and Phil was watching him with those soft, knowing blue eyes, and it didn’t matter if he knew it. It didn’t matter if he heard her say she hated him a million more times. It still fucking  _ hurt _ .  

He nodded anyway as tears and snot dribbled down his face. He was left defenseless as his arms were trapped under their son. That only made him cry harder. 

“Need help?” Phil asked delicately. 

Once they started, Dan wasn’t sure how to stop the onslaught of tears and let out a small delirious laugh that turned into laughs that shook his whole body as he continued to cry.

Phil hurried to Spencer’s changing station and grabbed a handful of baby wipes to quickly wipe away the mess of Dan’s face. Dan shot a watery smile at him and took a big breath. 

“Are you okay? Do you want me to take him?” Phil whispered.  

Dan glanced down to see Spencer snoozing peacefully. 

“All I need to do to make him sleep is lose my fucking mind apparently.” Dan whispered back with a little laugh. He steadied his breathing before the laughter could turn back into sobs. He knew they were still there under the surface. That breakdown wasn’t going anywhere far until he got some sleep himself. 

“How upset is she?” He asked after a comfortable silence of the two of them  watching their sleeping son stretched on .

“She is pretty upset with me.” Phil said without looking up.

“What? Why you?” 

Phil looked up and rolled his eyes before meeting Dan’s.

“Dan I’m not going to let her just talk to you like that and think it’s okay. I’m sorry I haven’t been pulling my weight with Spence…” He hesitated and looked visibly uncomfortable. “I’m such a bad dad. He cries whenever I touch him, Dan, I’m afraid he doesn’t like me. Maybe I’m just too awkward. Maybe I shouldn’t hold babies. They never like me. There’s not an excuse. I’m sorry.”

Dan leaned in for a deep kiss that he hope conveyed all of the emotions he was too tired to express.

“You’re not a bad dad. Don’t think that.” He said against Phil’s mouth and carefully hoisted Spencer up to place him in Phil’s arms. 

“No. He’ll wake up and start crying when he sees it’s me. He always does.” Phil started backing up. 

“Phil he just knows I’m a pushover and will keep holding him for practically a whole week. He loves you. They both do.” 

Phil sighed but bounced Spencer gently in his arms.

Immediately Spencer screwed up his tiny face and resumed where he left off wailing from earlier. 

“See?” Phil looked crestfallen as he stared up at Dan.

“Just rock him now. He’s tired and cranky just like his daddy and if you can make me stop crying this should be a piece of cake.” 

Phil started swaying and it only took a few minutes before Spencer’s breathing evened back out.

He walked over to the crib and carefully placed Spencer back under the calming lights and quiet sound before switching on the baby monitor and dragging Dan out of the nursery and in front of their large, welcoming bed across the hall.

“I did it!” He whispered excitedly.

Dan wrapped his arms around Phil and squeezed. Phil just started to sway again and ran his fingers through Dan’s nest of curls that hadn’t been tamed in the past week.

“I think it’s time for bed. Let’s restart today.” Phil mumbled in his ear. 

Dan squeezed a second time in agreement before climbing back in between the sheets. It was rare to not have one of their kids glued to their side.

He went to make a suggestive joke about how to spend their rare quality time but couldn’t convince the muscles in his mouth to work. His eyelids slid shut, too heavy to keep open. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!  
> You can reblog it [here!](https://comicbook.com/gear/2018/12/14/avatar-the-last-airbender-funko-pop-pre-orders-are-live/)


	4. First Amusement Park Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They take the kids to Disney World and despite four year old Spencer's concerns, Alligators aren't their biggest problem

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is only proof read by me so please ignore all the improper grammar and/or spelling.

__

“Do not run ahead of us, you two. Let’s decide as a family where we’re going to go first.” 

The mass of people bustled around them in the sweltering Florida heat. Phil unfolded the park map as his little family watched him with eager eyes.

“I want to go on the biggest roller coaster there is! Can we, Daddy?” 

“I told you we would later, Chlo. Spence is too little to go on the big rides so let’s start out with some rides that we can all go on together, okay?” Dan suggested.

She huffed and crossed her arms and moped the only way a ten year old could in the middle of Disney World. 

Her attitude dissipated quickly enough as they rode through pirate riddled waters on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. 

Cannon blasts rang out on either side of them. Spencer’s wild giggles were barely heard over the commotion.

They continued their morning going from ride to ride. Phil tried to ignore the impatience that was becoming more and more apparent on Chloe’s face. 

“Can we go now?” 

“Dan, it says we can all go in this one.” Phil pulled them towards the water ride that had a surprisingly steep drop at the end. They got in line and waited in the wet, humid heat.

“Papa!” Chloe tugged on his arm. “Did you know there are crocodiles here? Nana told me this morning! Some are bigger than me!” 

Phil tried to swallow down the wave of irritation at his mother. This was the kid’s first time joining the family in Florida for vacation since Chloe was too young to remember, and alligators were part of the charm of Florida for ten year olds. He knew that by experience. 

“Not crocodiles, alligators.” Dan corrected softly. Phil looked up and gave Dan an apologetic look. 

Dan just shook his head, irritation clear on his face. Maybe  _ Phil  _ wouldn’t have to say anything to Kath after all.

“Can I sit with you, Monkey?” Phil asked Chloe quietly. He didn’t mind missing some of the bigger roller coasters to find little ones that would suit their little four year old, but he missed the experiences he would miss with their daughter. 

“Yeah!” She cheered and hugged his arm.

They eventually reached the end of the line and climbed into the coaster sitting on the water that was in the shape of a log.

They floated past brightly lit up singing animatronics. Phil could see Spencer’s little head bopping around as he danced to the song next to Dan. Moments like these made Phil’s heart clench with how much love he had for the family they had created together. 

The log climbed vertically in a way that Phil knew had to be in preparation for the drop coming up. Animatronic vultures jeered at them from either side. He saw Dan pull Spencer closer in a deathly tight grip, always the worrier. 

“This is kind of scary.” A small voice said at his side. 

He glanced over at Chloe who was staring at him with wide dark blue eyes. 

“This is the best part!” He exclaimed and held onto her hand.

They reached the top and tipped over the lip and then they were free falling down a waterfall.

Chloe screeched in his ear, her little hand clutching his tightly. 

They slowed to a stop and she erupted into giggles. 

“That was so fun! Did you like it Spence?”

Spencer jumped around with his hands in his hair. “Yeah! I was so fast like  _ Swoooooooosh _ ! Daddy got all wet!” 

Dan rolled his eyes with a small smile, his dark attire even darker where the water splashed up onto him. 

“Are there alligators in that water?”  
“No!” Dan exclaimed. Phil just laughed and shook his head.

“Okay now can we go on one of the really big ones, Daddy?” Chloe begged.

“The Winnie the Pooh ride is fairly close to us. Let’s do that one first, okay?” 

She stomped her foot and stuck her bottom lip out. “Papa and Spence can do that one without us, can’t they?” 

“I think Daddy wants to go on the Pooh ride with us, Chloe. Let’s get to this corner over here and look at the map and we’ll figure out where you guys can go afterwards and where we will meet up later, okay?”

“I’ve already done all the baby rides! I want to go on a big roller coaster now! You promised!” The tantrum Phil knew was brewing finally came to a head. 

“Chloe that is not how you talk to us or get what you want, is it?” Dan chastised her.

Spencer burst into tears at his side. “I’m not a baby!” He wailed. It was a new and exciting revelation for him and the b-word caused quite the reaction lately.

“She didn’t mean it, Spence. Hey, it’s okay.” Dan cooed and ruffled his dark hair. 

“Come on. Let’s get out of the road.” They bustled away from the flowing crowd until they found a sitting area that was mostly unoccupied.

“Chloe do you want to apologize to your little brother please?” Dan asked as he turned around. “Chloe?”

Phil looked around where they were gathered but their daughter was nowhere in sight. He turned back to the way the came from and started retracing their steps without saying a word to Dan.

“Chloe!?” He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled as he pushed through the people. He could faintly hear Dan follow suit back where he left him on the bench. 

“Chloe?” He went all the way back to the exit of their last ride. 

When there was no sign of their little girl static buzzing filled Phil’s ears until it was all he could hear. His mind raced with all of the possibilities and threats for a ten year old girl alone in a massive amusement park. He looked towards an employee helping people off of the ride who was watching him with concern. 

The water glimmered behind him, catching Phil’s eye and throwing the word “alligator” into the mix of panicked thoughts.

“Phil! Where-  _ you didn’t find her _ ?’ Dan jogged up with Spencer hoisted onto his hip with a tight grip. Color bled out of Dan’s face. His expression was one Phil had never seen in all of the years they spent together. It made Phil’s skin crawl and heart hurt. 

“Help! I can't find my daughter!" Dan grabbed the nearest employee who had been happily selling Mickey Mouse ears oblivious to the situation unfolding in front of her. 

“I’m sorry sir? Is your daughter missing?” She brushed her hair out of her face and after a quick word with the other woman in the booth stepped out and patted Dan’s arm sympathetically.

“We will figure this out. I just need a name and a description of what she is wearing as well as the last place you saw her.”

She turned away from them and muttered into a radio that he didn’t remember seeing a minute ago. Phil rattled off Chloe’s outfit and hair and eye color while she repeated it to the other line and smiled at them. 

He watched in awe as every employee in his line of sight received the message and looked around them for their missing girl. It dawned on him that they had a protocol to follow and this was something that had to happen fairly often. 

“Let’s go someplace a little quie-” She stopped as a voice buzzed through the radio.

“We have a lost little girl over here missing her dads. Name Chloe?”

“That’s her!” Dan exclaimed. He blinked excessively to keep the tears at bay. Phil reached over and squeezed one of his hands. 

The voice on the radio said a series of numbers and letters that didn’t make any sense to Phil but must have to the employee helping them. She beamed at them and motioned them to follow her.

“She isn’t even too far away! Let’s go!” She marched ahead of them.

Phil glanced at Dan whose hand was still weaved snuggly in his own. Unshed tears sat on his waterline as he stared determinedly at her back. Phil could see the thin strings keeping him from falling apart and knew he wasn’t too far off himself but would worry about that later on. He squeezed again. 

Spencer looked over at Phil, his eyes as big as saucers. Phil knew he only understood enough to be terrified and their reactions weren’t helping. 

“Let’s go get your sister, Spence. Sound good?” 

His face split into a wide grin and he nodded enthusiastically.

“Daddy we’re going to go get Chloe!” He informed Dan seriously. 

Dan huffed out a small laugh.

“Alright she should be right around the corner they said. I think she’s at ‘The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.’” 

Dan glanced at Phil and opened his mouth but was cut off by a shrill “ _ Chloe _ !” 

Spencer pointed excitedly in Dan’s arms over to the sobbing ten year old.

Two employees stood smiling at her side.

She rushed over to them. Phil squatted down just as she ran into his chest and threw her arms around his neck. Dan squished Spencer between the three of them as he embraced their little family, tears finally falling.

“You’re so smart.” He set Spencer down and brushed Chloe’s hair out of her watery eyes. “I didn’t even think to look at Pooh but you did everything right.”

“We’re so proud of you.” Phil pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

“I turned around and you were  _ gone _ .” She sniffed. 

“I know, Monkey.” Dan said. “It was scary, wasn’t it?” She nodded and pressed her face into Dan’s shirt.

“I’m sorry I called it a baby ride, Spence. You’re not a baby. It looks really fun.” 

“I think we need to get on that Winnie the Pooh ride and then go get some well deserved ice cream. How does that sound?” Phil asked.

The three of them cheered. Spencer launched into babbling some insane story only his sister would be able to decipher as they got in line. 

“Thanks for holding it together.” Dan said as he nudged Phil gently. 

“I didn't do any more than you did.” Phil argued.

Dan scoffed. “You kept me from being a sobbing mess in the middle of a path in Disney World and terrifying our four year old.” He leaned over to press a kiss to Phil’s temple. “Just let me compliment you for taking care of our family, you spork.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone in the word chats! <3  
>   
> if you'd like to reblog this you can do so   
> And if you'd like to request any other kinds of "firsts" for their little family don't hesitate to send some prompts


	5. First Night Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An emergency causes Phil to leave Dan alone overnight with Chloe for the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to @intoapuddle for reading over this for me!

“This house fucking creaks, Phil.” Dan whined into the phone. They had been in a call for nearly forty-five minutes. 

“Sorry.”

It was nearing an hour and Dan could hear the exhaustion in Phil’s voice from traveling all day. 

“You want to go to bed.” He was kind enough to not phrase it as a question.

“I’m sorry, Dan. We can stay on until I fall asleep?” 

Dan was blown away not for the first time at how much love he had for this man.

“I-” A wail from down the hall cut Dan off mid sentence. Maybe he had the luxury of falling asleep with Phil sleeping on the other end of a phone line in the past but it wasn’t feasible these days.

“Chloe’s up. I have to go.”

Dan sighed and ran his hands over his face as he made his way out of their lonely bedroom. It was the first time they had to be apart over night with Chloe. It was remarkable they were able to put it off as long as they did. 

It was usually a deciding factor if they’d attend any get together or event on if they’d both be able to be home with their daughter afterwards.

It wasn’t like they didn’t do most things together anyway, and it was honestly nice having an excuse to duck out of social events they didn’t really want to attend in the first place. 

 

Dan had been sleeping soundly, warm and tangled in a mess of blanket’s and his husband’s limbs in the dead of night when Phil’s shrill ringtone startled them both awake.

Phil sat up to answer it and Dan groaned before pressed his face into Phil's leg and chased the sleep.

“What?” Dan sat up at the unmistakable panic in Phil's voice. 

Dan watched as he jumped from the bed and threw their closet door open. He pulled a suitcase out and tossed it on the bed.

“Mum how did you fall? Are you- Yeah…..” 

Dan switched on the light and watched an Phil ran a shaky hand through his hair. 

“No Mum, you should have called me earlier. I'm not- I'm not cross I just wish you would have called me when you fell! I'm going to go. I'll be there as soon as I can be.” 

It turned out Kath had tripped in the garden earlier that night and in an attempt to catch herself broke one arm and sprained the other wrist. 

Nigel and Martyn had stayed in Florida just the two of them for an extra two weeks so she had nobody to help her. Dan knew Kathryn Lester and knew if she was calling Phil and  _ asking _ for help that it was serious. 

Dan booked a ticket while Phil packed and just a few hours later Dan and Chloe were seeing him off as the sun rose. 

It had been a long fussy day with Chloe and all Dan wanted to do was to curl up in bed with his entire family.

They were trying desperately to keep Chloe in her own bed, but Phil wasn’t here to say otherwise tonight. 

“Monkey!” Dan cooed as he flipped her light switch on. “Want to sleep in Daddy’s bed tonight?”

She nodded, tears and snot running down her little face.   _ ‘She gets her dramatics from you.’ _ Phil liked to say.

Dan gathered her in his arms and stumbled through their dark home. Every shadow jumped out at him on his way and he was nearly sprinting through their dim hallway back to his room. His heart was pounding but luckily Chloe thought it was a game and was giggling wildly in his ear. 

“Should we put a movie on?” He asked as he pulled the blankets over her tiny legs. He tuck her in his arms and cracked Phil’s laptop open in front of them. 

“You’re naughty,” She whispered haughtily. “It’s bedtime! Papa is going to tell you  _ ‘Go to sleep _ !’” She sing-sang in a warning tone. 

Dan tried to muffle his laughter at that. “You know, Chloe, Papa’s not home right now but I bet he would say that it’s okay just for tonight.” He opened Netflix and clicked on Moana before she had the chance to argue for any other movie that caught her eye. Two year olds were stubborn and he wasn’t about to spend the rest of the night convincing her why she couldn’t watch the horror movie with the cat on the cover  _ again _ . 

She went lax in his arms in no time, soothed by the deep rumble of his chest against her back and the familiarity of her parent’s bedroom. Dan spat some of her blond hair out of his mouth, certain he’d have it back in his mouth somehow before Moana was even in a boat. 

Still, the steady breathing coming from his tiny daughter as well as the safety of the only sound in their house being the uplifting songs they often got roped into dancing around their house to calmed Dan’s nerves enough for him to take a deep breath.

It was hard not to spiral at times. Existential crises when he thought of Chloe’s future were a lot harder to get a grip on than ones about his own, and fear from before being a parent and fear after becoming one were on totally different levels. 

It was still strange, not having Phil waltz into the bedroom with a scandalized expression from letting her watch a movie so late and sleeping in their bed, before eagerly joining them.

Dan didn’t think he would actually nod off to sleep before ‘nap time’ tomorrow but really, he has survived on much less sleep than this.

Chloe let out a long, soft breath before

rolling over and burrowing into the chest of his pajama shirt. She was warm like a furnace and was snoring tiny human snores that were too cute and pure for him to handle. He loved her more than life itself. He had never felt love like this before her. It was on another level and incomparable to anything else. He would without hesitation do  _ anything  _ in the world for the little girl in his arms. 

His eyes slid shut and he wondered if Chloe would be dreaming about exploring the ocean as Moana sang softly in their ears. 

 

Long, freckled arms wove themselves aroud Dan’s middle and squeezed him tightly as he began to stir. The sun was peering through the curtains and Chloe was facing him, already awake with her eyes bright and shining. She had a mischievous glint to her eye as she smiled broadly at him.

“Morning Daddy!!!” She squealed excitedly. She gazed over his shoulder adoringly and Dan felt his heart somehow swell bigger.

“Morning little Monkey! Should we call your Papa and see how he’s doing taking care of Nana?” He asked, trying to keep the grin off of his face. Phil squeezed tighter and huffed a laugh in Dan’s ear.

“No!” she giggled and mimed shushing at Phil before turning back to Dan. 

“Too bad your Papa isn’t here.” He dramatically puffed out his bottom lip. 

She giggled wildly and hurried to cover his eyes.

“Don't look!” she giggled and pulled him up. 

“Okay, ready?” she whispered to Phil. 

“Alright Daddy!”

Dan opened his eyes to Phil standing in front of him with Chloe ecstatically on his shoulders. She giggled uncontrollably, her fair hair in a wild tangled mess around her head from sleep. 

“What!” Dan tried his best to appear surprised before surging forward and capturing Phil's grinning lips with his own. 

“I hated being here without you last night.”

“I know.” Phil said softly. “I hated it too.”

“Not that I'm not thrilled to see you but-”

“Would you mad at me if I brought my temporarily handicapped mother home so I didn't have to be away from home?” Phil asked quickly. 

Dan let out a surprised laugh. “Chloe should we go surprise Nana now?” 

Her eyes widened as she scrambled down Phil's back. It was easily becoming the most exciting morning of her short life. 

Dan pulled Phil back as they followed her to the guest room and kissed him quickly a second time. 

He made it through the night alone despite his concerns but it was nice having a partner who moved mountains and injured mothers alike to make sure he didn't have to.    
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I dont post half as often as I'd like! I'm going to have to rearrange things once my new chapter fic is in play


	6. First new baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Phil find themselves unprepared and without someone to watch the soon to be big sister when the new baby comes sooner than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been awhile!  
> I was really missing writing ParentPhan and this idea just wouldn't get out of my head.   
> Let me know what you thought!!  
>   
> Thank you so much to @huphilpuffs for beta reading this for me last minute. I appreciate you!

“I’m going to be a big sister.” Chloe dutifully told the cashier of the store they were currently checking out of. 

“Oh how exciting!” the older woman crooned at her. “Is it in your mummy's tummy right now?” she sang peering over her glasses. 

Chloe just cackled and beamed up at Dan who was hoping the conversation would stop there. 

“Let's go, Monkey.” he grabbed their groceries and hurried to meet Phil who was already outside on a phone call. 

“You better actually be talking to somebody and not just avoiding grocery duty, Bub. You missed a whole ‘baby in your mummy's belly’ conversation.” 

Phil held up a hand and turned away from Dan. 

“ _ How _ far? Wow that's, its soon then. Isn't it too early? I-” He nodded vigorously before saying goodbye and hanging up.

“Phil what-”

“The baby’s coming!” He exclaimed, throwing his trembling hands out.

Dan could feel his knees wanting to buckle and hurried to dump the groceries into the back seat before he dropped them all.

“Now? We have Chloe, and ice cream, and- the nursery isn’t ready yet! I-”

“Dan you need to breathe.” Phil clasped onto Dan’s shoulders and squeezed. He shot a watery smile at Dan, tears fogging up his glasses.

“Daddy what’s wrong?”    
Dan looked over to Chloe who was watching them apprehensively. 

Phil crouched down to her level and motioned her to come in close. Dan placed a hand on Phil’s shoulder and gently rubbed at the muscles there with his thumb. Chloe stared up at Dan before scooting in closer.

“You know how you’re going to be a big sister?” Phil asked as he grabbed her hands. She nodded enthusiastically. 

“You’re going to get a little baby brother or sister  _ today _ .” She danced back and forth on her toes and smiled up at the two of them. 

“Where’s the baby!?” She squealed.

Dan squatted down next to Phil. “Monkey the baby isn’t here yet so we’re going to go to the hospital to be there when the baby comes. You can come with but you have to be on extra good behavior, okay?”  She looked at them both seriously and nodded before climbing into her seat and buckling herself in.

“Maybe Martyn can come and get her? I’ll call him while you drive.” Phil said. 

Dan hurried to put the car into drive as soon as they were all situated and scowled at Phil. “You couldn’t have suggested that before I got her excited about coming with?” 

“We will have four people in our family!” Chloe called out proudly from the backseat. The tension in the car melted away and Phil smiled over at Dan.

“That's right sweetheart!” Phil smiled warmly at Dan. 

They got to the hospital in record time. Dan dropped Phil off at the entrance so he could find April’s room while Dan parked and promised they would join him as soon as possible.

Dan still marveled at how different this adoption process was. With Chloe they never met her birth parents and she was already a year and a half old by the time they welcomed her in as their daughter. 

April wasn't like anyone else. She was welcoming and sometimes brutally honest with the two of them. They didn’t get into the logistics of why she was giving her baby up for adoption further than her saying she didn’t want to be a mother. 

“That’s not the life for me.” She laughed when Phil nervously asked her one day while the three of them were out for dinner. 

Dan convinced Phil it was better not to push. He figured sometimes it was as simple as that and the fact they got a new child out of the arrangement was a good enough reason for them to not pry.

There was a fear that she would change her mind, that she would hold the tiny body in her arms instead of inside of her and weep with the love and emotion it brought her before deciding she couldn’t ship the baby off with two people who were basically strangers.

It was a thought that had kept Dan up at night the past seven months. He never said anything to Phil, who was the best dad their children could ask for but turned into a bit of a mess as an expecting father. There were enough nerves to go around without Dan adding to them.

“Daddy are you going to make Uncle Martyn come and get me?” A small, sad voice called out from the backseat, breaking Dan from his thoughts.

“No, Monk.” He parked the car and turned around. She looked up at him with wide watery eyes and her lips tugged down in an overdramatic frown that made his chest hurt regardless of the dramatics.

“No, I’m going to see if Uncle Martyn will come and sit with you so me and Papa can go back and help April.”

“Is the baby going to hurt her? I heard Grandma tell you it hurt her lots.”

Dan sighed. He was getting all of the fun six year old questions today it seemed. 

“Well, the baby wont hurt her on purpose but it’s a lot of hard work.” 

Her expression didn’t change. “That’s mean.” 

“Sweetie the baby isn’t mean it’s just that–”

“I don’t want a mean baby brother or sister.” She crossed her arms. He cursed their daughter’s impeccable timing for defiance. 

“You know when we go swimming and you have tons of fun?”

She nodded apprehensively.

“Well when we race  _ all  _ the way to the other side of the pool sometimes you're really tired but it was fun and you made it across the  _ whole pool _ so it was worth it. It's kind of like that.” 

She eyed him for awhile. 

“It's not nice to hurt people. You hurt Grandma.”

“I'll say I'm sorry.” 

She nodded once, curtly and took his hand in hers. 

He fought rolling his eyes at his stubborn daughter. It was well passed nap time. 

He dug his unoccupied phone out of his pocket and dialed Martyn's number.

Straight to voicemail. A wave of nerves hit Dan. It was looking more and more likely one of them would be missing the birth of their second child. 

They couldn't take her back with them. They hardly knew April themselves and Chloe was already convinced the baby was going to hurt her. She didn't need to see proof.

Dan knew his mother would drop everything to scramble up to London but who knew how soon that would be. Kath and Nigel would be hours and Adrian was out of the country. 

“Is Uncle Martyn bringing Auntie Corn?” 

Dan didn’t bother answering Chloe as he rushed to dial his sister in law’s number. How did he not think of her?

“You’re calling instead of texting is the world ending?” Cornelia joked as she answered  the call.

“The baby’s coming! Phil’s with April right now. We just got here.” He could feel himself starting to get choked up as he slowed down enough for it to start to really hit him. “The room isn’t ready. We don’t even have the crib put together yet. It’s so early, Corn. What if–”

“Dan. Where is Chloe?” 

Dan took a deep breath and glanced down at his daughter who was staring at him worriedly. 

“She’s here. I– Can you come and sit with her? Martyn’s phone is off.”

“Of course I can. I’ll be there right away. Text me where you’re at and I’ll let Martyn know. He’s in a meeting right now but it should be out soon and he’ll meet me there. Just sit tight with Chloe and try not to freak out.” 

Dan agreed before hanging up and following Phil’s directions to the right floor. 

He found a quiet corner of a waiting room and sat down in a chair, tense and rigid. 

He sent several texts to Phil asking what was happening and updating him on what was happening on his end but threw his phone down in the chair next to him after not receiving any messages in return.

“Daddy is the baby okay? Why are you scared?” Chloe asked in a small voice.

He looked over at her. She blinked over at him with a tentative smile and put a little hand on his arm for comfort. He pulled her across her chair and onto his lap and engulfed her in a big hug that muffled her squeals of laughter. 

“I just don’t like not knowing what’s going on, Monkey. It’s a big day.” 

He squeezed her tight and felt little arms squeeze back even tighter. 

“Can I get in on that?” Cornelia shrugged off her coat before holding her arms out.

“Auntie Corn!” Chloe jumped up and ran over to her.

Dan hurried to make sure Cornelia was good with Chloe and promised to update them as soon as he knew anything before getting April's room number and being buzzed back into the hallways where the delivery rooms were.

Dan wasted no time hurrying to the room. He felt his heart drop when he heard crying inside of it as he pushed the door open.

“What? What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Dan!”  Phil yelped and put his hand to his chest. “You scared the hell out of me!”

“Nothing’s wrong.” April sniffled from the bed. “Your future kid is just kicking my ass with these contractions. They checked him out and and he looks just fine. He’s an impatient little thing though. It’s almost go-time.” She smiled warmly at them. Dan wondered if he’d have her silky black hair and kind eyes. Would he look like April’s ex boyfriend with blond hair and a chiseled chin and build? 

“A boy.” Phil whispered over to Dan, drawing him out of his thoughts.

Dan couldn’t make the words of excitement and endearment form on his tongue and compromised with a swift firm kiss. 

Phil was beaming as they parted.

“I left my phone in the car.” Phil said and winced.

“Philip Michael Lester. Do you know what was going through my head?” 

Phil smiled bashfully and pecked his lips once more to Dan’s. 

 

A nurse came in hours later and checked over poor exhausted April. 

“You two ready to be dads again? He’s coming.” She 

Dan was thrown back nearly five years where a younger less experienced Dan sobbed with his forehead pressed against Phil’s, both of them gazing down at their new family member. She cooed up at them excitedly, like she knew after months of bouncing around that she was home. They were already fathers this time. They were damn good at it if you asked Dan. 

“I’m doing the easy part.” April laughed.

“I’m ready.” Dan said as he laced his fingers through Phil’s. 

  
Seemingly in no time at all baby Spencer was making his presence known to the world with loud, wonderful cries that came from deep down in his healthy lungs. 

The nurse placed a beanie over his full head of dark hair and swaddled him. She gently set him in Phil’s arms, who promptly burst into tears. 

After tearful hugs and non stop thanks that would never be enough, April was off and out of their lives, per her request. She promised if Spencer ever had questions when he was older they could contact her but felt it was easier for everyone to leave it at that.

“It’s almost weird being alone with him now, isn’t it?” Phil whispered gleefully. He glanced up at Dan. Spencer wriggled in Dan’s arms before deeming himself comfortable enough to doze back off. Dan knew in a few months he would have night after night of this under his belt but in the moment couldn’t imagine ever wanting him to be anywhere else.

“Hello!” Martyn ducked into the room with Chloe in tow. “Mum said they’re on their way and she called your mum too.” He said to Phil and nodded towards Dan. 

“We can’t wait to see the little one but we figured Big Sister needed her moment alone.” Cornelia added. 

“Monkey do you want to meet your little brother?” Phil asked excitedly. 

Phil helped her wash her hands and hoisted her up onto the bed next to Dan and perched next to her. 

Dan carefully placed Spencer in her arms, both he and Phil supporting his head and helping her hold him.

“He’s so cute!” She whispered loudly. She looked back and forth at the two of them before looking fixedly back down at her brother in fascination. 

Dan was overwhelmed by the overflowing amount of love he felt. He would have never been able to imagine such a wonderful life that he ended up sharing with such an amazing man. He felt more tears bubble up to the surface and looked over at Phil who was smiling knowingly at him. He knew how Dan felt. 

Dan laid his head on Phil’s shoulder and tried to gather himself as tears ran down his cheeks. Their little family was complete. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	7. First Mother's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe is distraught when all the rage at her school is about mothers day and mums.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't beta'd so go easy on me lol

“Why don’t I have a mum?”

Dan froze in the doorway as Chloe continued to slide off her shoes and put her book bag away. Phil was at a doctor’s check up with Spencer and Dan cursed him for getting the easier of the two tasks. 

“Because you have me and Papa instead, Monkey.” He said softly and put a hand on her shoulder.

She brushed him off and huffed out an impatient breath.

“Everyone at school says it’s weird I don’t have a mum. We made pictures for mother’s day but  _ I don’t have a mum _ .” He could tell she was getting progressively more and more frustrated.

“Well I love your Papa and we both love you.” Dan said softly. “I would love to have the picture you made today.”

She spun around and rolled her eyes at him before putting her little hands on her hips. “You’re not my mum.” She said before she stalked off to her bedroom.

Dan stood there at a loss for words, a pang in his heart as her words sinked in. He had no point of reference or clue where to take this.

He dug his phone out of his pocket and clicked on Phil’s face before without thinking and without hesitation.

“Hey Spencer is not happy about his shots. My hands are kind of full I’ll see you when I get home?” Phil answered in a rushed breath. Dan could hear Spencer wailing in the background.

“Okay. I’ve got a bit of a situation waiting here, be prepared.”

“Uh oh. What kind of situation?” A car door shut and the crying stopped.

“I’m impressed you were able to wrangle him into his carseat and be on the phone. You get dad points.” He paused and looked over towards Chloe’s bedroom. “A meltdown situation.”

“Her or you?” Phil teased.

Dan huffed out a laugh and rolled his eyes. “Does it sound like it’s me? Maybe a little of both.” 

Phil hummed and the crying returned with the sound of a car starting.

“Topic?”

“Mother’s day.” Dan worried at his bottom lip. 

He heard Phil let out a low breath and sigh. “It was probably bound to happen eventually.” He said. 

“I’m going to try to talk to her now that she’s had a few moments to calm down. Just hurry home okay? I love you.” It wasn’t something that needed to be said often but with the reminder that they were a team Dan liked to tack it on the end as a reminder and a moral booster. 

“Love you too. We’ll be home soon! Say bye to Daddy, Spencer!” The wailing escalated and with a dry chuckle Phil ended the call.

Dan tossed his phone on the sofa and let himself enjoy a moment of clarity.

 

“Monkey?” He called as he softly knocked on her open door. He peeked into the room to see her face down on her bed. 

He sat next to her on the bed and ran his hand along her spine soothingly. 

“You know some people have two mums. All that it means is that I love your Papa and he loves me so we wanted a family and that’s how we got you.”

She looked up at him warily. “Was there a lady who had me like April had Spencer? Is she his mum? Do I have a mum?”

“No. No April had Spencer but he’s all ours and so are you. There was somebody who had you like that but I never met her.” He ran his fingers through her hair. 

“You picked me?” It was what they always told her. Adoption simplified enough for a seven year old, but really Dan didn’t think there was more that needed to be explained than that.

“We sure did. I took one look at you and I told your Papa ‘Oh look someone left a monkey here- wait that isn’t a monkey at all it’s a wild little girl!’” He tickled her and revelled in her loud lively giggles.

She stopped laughing and smiled up at him. “I wish I had a mum, sometimes- like the other kids.” 

It hurt more than it should and Dan fought violently to not let it show on his face. He scrambled for a reply.

“Being different is hard sometimes.” A familiar comforting voice came from the doorway.

Phil walked the rest of the way in and set Spencer sleeping soundly in his carseat by Dan’s side. 

“But instead of a mum you have two dads that love you so much.” He kissed her forehead and smiled at her.   
“You don’t have a Mum, Chloe. I know mother’s day is probably a little weird especially at school but you know what you do have?”

She shook her head.

“You’ve got two grandma’s who love you  _ almost _ as much as me and your daddy do. They’re both going to come up and spend all weekend with us to celebrate mother’s day. I think your Nana even said something about the three of you going out for a girl’s day! Does that sound fun?”

She jumped up on the bed and threw her arms around his neck excitedly.

Not for the first time in their relationship Dan was blown away by his husband’s brains and ability to problem solve. It seemed like such a simple, perfect solution to tie everything together and it hadn’t even been on his radar.

Chloe launched into all the fun things she was going to do with her grandmothers and paraded through her room, stopping to talk animatedly to her little brother as he groggily watched her, half awake. 

Dan pulled Phil close by the back of his neck and kissed him soundlessly and deeply. 

“You’re a genius.” He said and pecked his lips again once they parted. 

Phil beamed at him. “I try.”   
“Yeah, well you saved mother’s day so I’m pretty impressed. Probably could get me to do all sorts of things right now.” Dan teased in a low voice.

Spencer cried a few times to himself before wailing in a fresh tantrum.

Phil raised his eyebrows and laughed. “You said it.” He said before handing over their distraught son.

Dan held him tight before leaning close to Phil. “You sure you want to waste your free card on this, Lester? I’m pretty good.”

Phil threw his head back in a delighted laugh. “I’m sure.” He pressed his lips to Dan’s quickly before straightening up. “You take care of this tantrum and I’ll pretend that this is actually and ultimatum with consequences.” 

Dan huffed a faux offending gasp before standing to his feet, his face burning. He stalked into the hallway and turned around. “Oi. Oi, you. Tell you I think you’re smart one time and you get all smug on me.” He stifled a laugh and closed the nursery door behind him before Phil could reply.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can reblog it on  tumblr right here! 


	8. First Time Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After months of trying Dan and Phil find themselves presented with the option to adopt a little girl named Chloe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you @huphilpuffs for being my wonderful beta on this!  
> This was requested by @auntiem911 for the drive @phadomgives did for Dan's birthday. I hope you like it!!!! <3

They had been looking for a child to adopt for close to 10 months and Dan was feeling every second of it like weights being piled onto his chest. 

“It feels like it’s never going to happen,” he whispered early one morning into the chilled air of the bedroom, half of him hoping Phil was still fast asleep and spared of Dan’s mind making things worse.

A pale arm he knew better than his own snaked around his middle and pulled tight, pressing Dan’s back flat against Phil’s front.

“It will happen. It’s just been… bad luck is all.” Phil’s voice was gravelly and croaky from sleep.

He ran his fingers up and down Dan’s arm 

They had gotten close. Exceedingly, exhaustively close. So close that Dan wasn’t sure he could get that close and get it taken away again. 

The woman they had met up with when she was just almost five and a half months along changed her mind and blocked them from contacting her just after reaching the seven month mark. 

It hadn’t been a long amount of time but they both succeeded in putting their entire hearts into imagining their life with the little boy that was growing inside of her. Ultrasound pictures were pinned to the fridge and Dan was just grateful they didn’t customize the plain empty nursery that was locked down the hall from where he was lying. 

There were a few prospective women with bellies rounded with potential to be their next family member but it was just never right.

“I hate that the room is just out there across the hall just empty and… ready. Do you think they’re not picking us because we’re two men? I mean we  _ have _ money and the perfect house and garden, Phil. What else could it be?”

Phil was usually quick to quiet the unkind thoughts that made their way out of Dan’s mouth, particularly those that still tried to twist his sexuality into something bad or wrong. 

“Phil?” He called out into the silent room. 

Dan turned around, his long legs immediately tangled in their sheets in order to get a look at Phil. 

He was staring intently at his phone frozen, seemingly without breathing.

“Hey, what’s wr–”

“We have a meeting this morning. In just a few hours.,” Phil said in a shaky voice. “It’s a text from Margie.” Margie was the woman who was more like a force of nature, determined to find them a child. 

“Do we have a meeting today? I thought we met the last one on the list last week.” 

Phil shrugged and turned his baby blue eyes to Dan. “I thought so too but maybe she scheduled us wrong.” 

Dan smiled and squeezed Phil’s hands in his own. It was hard not getting excited. The looming shadow of heartache and disappointment was still there but the thought of starting a family with the man he loved was enough to push it all to the back of his mind for the moment. 

He scrambled out of the entwined bedding and rushed towards the bathroom the moment he was freed. 

“I’m going to shower. You can join me,  _ if _ there’s no funny business, Lester.” 

 

They got to the office nearly forty five minutes early. Dan stared at the familiar brochures and family oriented paintings hung on the walls. There was a cork board full of overlapping pictures of tearful new parents with children of all ages wedged in between them. Thank yous and christmas cards and letters praising the adoption agency and their experiences with the company.

Dan wondered every time he was sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair if they would have a picture up there someday. 

A hand grabbed his knee and jolted him from his thoughts.

He looked up at Phil and was met with a worried expression. 

“You’re constant leg jiggling is making me more nervous,” he whispered. Dan hadn’t even realized he had been moving it but sitting still wasn’t going to happen and they both knew it. 

“Sorry,” he said back and placed his hand on top of Phil’s. He ran his thumb back and forth and hummed quietly. Taking care of Phil always came naturally and easier than taking care of himself. 

“Hello!” Margaret hurried out of the doory and embraced each of them. She had been there with them each step of the way and was almost as invested as they were.

“Margie! I think our schedules got mixed up. We didn’t know we had a meeting today. We’re not complaining or anything I just didn’t know we were going to meet anyone else on the list today,” Phil babbled nervously at Dan’s side while Margie lead them down the familiar hallway to her office. She just shook her head and motioned for them to sit.

She closed the door and took a deep breath before sitting across from them.

“Are we meeting a mum today?” Dan asked, confused. 

“No, actually.  _ Listen _ –" she hurried to continue when she saw the hurt on his face "– I know this is kind of out of the blue and  _ different _ but I’ve got a baby girl who was in foster care and the people who’s care she was in decided they’re more suited for older children. She’s had awful luck, bouncing around home to home since she was given up at three months. She’s already one and a half but as soon as I got her case and knew I had to call the two of you. I know this isn’t what we had discussed, so to speak. It isn’t a newborn baby whose mother you got to know and who you named yourself and witnessed their birth... but would you like to meet Chloe?”

Dan could feel his throat constricting as he swallowed back the fear that was consuming him. 

He could faintly hear Phil eagerly agreeing at his side and watched with a far away numbness as Margie left the room to retrieve the little girl.

He wasn’t ready. They were supposed to have time beforehand. To go to classes to read more books and watch more videos. To get the house ready and perfect, to have a silly last night of celebration with just the two of them. He didn’t know how to take care of a one year old. He could hardly take care of himself. Some days he couldn’t. What if he was a bad father? What if he was like–

“ _ Dan _ .” Phil gripped his shoulders tight and only let go once Dan met his eyes. “What’s going on in there? We’re a team. If– if you don’t want to do it like this we don’t have to. I– I–”

“I want this so badly.” Dan whispered, “But what if I’m shit at it? What if that’s genetic? Are we ready?”

Phil nodded confidently, tears pooling at the rim of his lashes. “We are ready. I couldn’t be more ready and excited to start a family with you, Dan. I  _ know _ you’re going to be the best dad and whoever we get as a child is going to be so lucky.”

Dan stood up and pulled Phil into a tight hug, hoping it conveyed at least a fraction of what he was feeling for the tall gangly man. 

He heard the door creak open behind him and sucked in a breath as Phil’s muscles stiffened in his arms.

Phil’s eyes locked onto something and instantly softened. Dan turned and was met with big, stormy blue eyes that were speckled with bits of gray. They were wide and locked right onto Dan’s. Fine blonde hair was pulled into tiny pigtails that were hardly long enough to be gathered in the hair-ties. Her face lit up like a light and she smiled a big cheesy, three toothed smile that made her chubby baby cheeks swallow her eyes. 

She giggled delightedly and glanced from Phil to Dan. 

“Would you like to hold her?” Margie asked quietly.

Dan found himself in front of her with his arms out. Chloe reached her tiny little arms towards him and clutched onto his shoulder as he balanced her on his hip. He met her eyes again and she giggled shyly before burying her face in his shoulder. 

His heart melted. Shaky legs carried him back over to the chair he carefully lowered himself back onto. The lump was back in his throat, except this time it wasn’t fear. 

“Hey, you,” Phil cooed over Dan’s shoulder. He booped her on the nose lightly before presenting his pointer finger as a peace offering that she latched onto immediately with a big toothless grin. 

“Hey Chloe,” Dan whispered. He sniffled and blinked furiously as he tried to hold it together. “Look at you hanging on so tight. You’re a little monkey, aren’t you?” He nuzzled his face against her. 

Phil crouched down to get on her level and waved at her while making an array of silly faces. He was going to make a phenomenal dad with the  _ best _ stories. Dan had never felt so in love. 

“Do you want to be part of our family?” Phil asked so quietly Dan almost didn’t hear him. He turned to Dan with a question in his eyes. He knew the answer but the silent conversation was mandatory. 

_ Do you feel what I feel here? _

**_Yeah_ ** _. _

_ We have to make sure we get her. _

**_She belongs in our family._ **

_ I love you. _ _  
_ **_I love you too._ **

Margie cleared her throat and presented them with a thick stapled packet of paperwork. Her eyes were red around the rim and Dan felt a whoosh of appreciation and a debt he could never repay her for being so diligent and caring, above and beyond what they paid her to. 

“You’ll need to fill this all out and you can come and get her tomorrow officially.” 

Phil pouted. “Tomorrow? I don’t want to leave her here. Do we have to?” He glanced at Dan who nodded quickly in agreement, still not trusting his voice. 

Margie bit her lip and frowned in deep thought. After a few minutes of silence she dug her phone out of her pocket and started texting aggressively. 

Dan rocked Chloe gently and kept his eyes on Phil. He was standing tall with a hand on Dan’s shoulder, staring probably a bit too intently at Margie. 

“Okay,” Margie breathed out a few minutes later. “You can take her today if you have a car seat latched in your car correctly and a social worker will meet you at your house for an inspection to make sure everything is good to go. You have her crib set up?”

Dan thought of the empty nursery and winced. 

“Yeah. It needs to be made up but it’s built.” He looked at Dan sheepishly. “I couldn’t sleep a few weeks ago so I spent an entire night putting it together.” 

“Great!” Margie exclaimed before Dan could respond. “I can take Chloe while you fill these out.”

“I’ve got her.” Dan finally said in a soft voice. Chloe let out a soft breath at the sound of his voice. Her head was slumped onto his chest and she was sleeping peacefully. 

“I can sign and hold her at the same time. It’s fine,” he whispered.

“I will get everything ready for her to go home.” She smiled. “There will be a check in every week for the first few months and there are some time restraints and other protocols we’ll have to cross before we can get the actual adoption. You’ll be her foster parents for now but I’m getting the ball rolling for adoption. Congratulations, guys.” She hurried out the door.

“Martyn? Hey I need a big favor. Can you drop everything you’re doing right now and go buy a car seat, some baby food and a list of  supplies I’ll send you?” He looked over at Dan and beamed. “How would you like to meet your niece?” 

 

Dan turned the lights off in the now quiet nursery. Their daughter’s soft snores the only sound he could hear in their full house. 

It was hard to comprehend how much love he felt. How full his heart felt. If he sat and truly thought about it he knew he’d be a total mess. 

“Hey you,” Dan said softly to Phil who was sat on their bed organizing the mountains of clothes and various supplies Martyn and Cornelia had gathered.

“I don’t think they left anything left in the store,” Phil moaned and threw a tiny flowered romper down. 

Dan laughed. “I do think they might have gotten a little excited there,” he agreed. 

Phil crawled across the bed and grabbed Dan by his hips, pulling him close. “I guess I can’t fault them for being excited by our new family member.” 

Dan felt dizzy from the weight and affection that came with that thought. 

The despair and hopelessness he felt that morning seemed like a lifetime ago. 

“I love you,” Dan said while he ran his fingers through Phil’s quiff. Phil leaned into the touch until a soft confused cry rang out from across the hall. He jumped up with a grin.

“I’ve got it!” 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you can find it and reblog if you'd like on tumblr  right here!!   
> Thanks!  
> Let me know what you think!


	9. First Late Night Interruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan and Phil finally get to enjoy some alone time when the kids are off to bed when Chloe bursts into their room with a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you callie for helping me think this one up even if it started as a joke and betaing for me <3 <3

Sex with Dan was good. It always has been and Phil would be willing to bet that it always would be. 

Dan had been leaving little hints throughout the day that this is how their evening would end. Whether it was sultry looks or a little more small brushes than normal, Phil got the message. It was hard to find time as parents and Phil welcomed their new kind of foreplay.

Dan’s mouth was on his neck and hands scrambled in the sheets around them. All of it was good but they finally reached the  _ good _ , good part, the part Phil would remember fondly in quick showers during busy weeks with little contact. 

Dan started whimpering and making _that_ _noise_ that Phil was damn proud to draw out of him, when their door creaked open and their nine year old daughter trotted in, tears on her face and already launched into her story, no doubt a bad dream at the center of it. 

She stopped dead in her tracks and took one look at their shocked faces before backing out of their room quickly. 

“Oh my god,” Dan was already on the other side of the bed, bright red face in his hands and clearly already spiraling.

“Dan.”

“Oh my god, Phil. What do we  _ do _ ? What do we say to her? My baby. She’s going to be scarred for life. We shouldn’t have even attempted this while they were home. Oh my  _ god. _ ” His voice raised higher than Phil’s ears could handle at the end. He took a deep breath and crawled across the bed to Dan and put a hand on his arm.

“ _ Phil _ ! We need to get dressed, I–”

“I just want you to relax Dan!” Phil said and was horrified to feel a gigantic grin spreading across his face and felt the laughter bubbling up at the situation. He knew it wasn’t damage that couldn’t be undone and he couldn’t help but find the whole thing amusing and the nerves were just fueling the giggles.

“Why the fuck are you smiling?” Dan shrieked as he struggled to pull his pants and pajama’s back up over his legs once he found them on the floor. He threw Phil’s at him and glanced at the door worriedly.

“Dan we’ll go get her and just tell her it’s a grown up thing that people do when they love each other. It’s going to be okay,” Phil chuckled and pulled Dan into his arms.

“Philip Michael put some pants on. I swear to god.” Dan scrambled away with a huff and chewed at his lip, distracted. 

“Hey, it’s going to be fine,” Phil said softly once he was appropriately dressed. 

“Come on, then.” He held his hand out to Dan and lead him gently through the house, past Spencer’s dark and quiet room, to where a soft light shone out of a cracked doorway. 

“Hey little monkey,” Dan called out as Phil rapt gently on the door. 

“What?” Chloe’s voice was sharp and not at all welcoming. She took after Dan, getting defensive when embarrassed. They’d have to proceed gently and carefully, luckily Phil was used to dealing with two of the most dramatic people in London and had gotten quite good at it.

“We just want to talk to you, is that okay?”

“I guess.” 

They made their way inside of her room to find her sat at the very top of the bed with her duvet up to her wobbling chin. 

Phil glanced at Dan and noticed his face had the likeness of a ripe tomato.

“Hey can we talk about what happened and why you’re upset?” Phil asked gently and sat at the foot of her bed.

“I didn’t knock,” she muttered in a small voice and stared down at her bedsheets.

“It happens sometimes,” Phil reasoned. “Me and your daddy were just–”

“Is it a bad thing?” 

“No,” Dan rushed forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s what grown ups that are in love do sometimes. It’s not a bad thing it’s just for grown ups and it’s a very private thing with a special person.”

“Oh,” she blinked up at him. “Okay.”

She looked back down at her hands that were fidgeting with her duvet before she promptly burst into tears. 

Dan sat on the bed and dragged her into his lap. She was getting too big for him to do so easily and the thought made Phil’s heart hurt.

“What’s wrong?” He asked and kissed the top of her blonde head. 

“I had a bad– a bad dream,” she wailed and crumpled up into his arms.

“What was it about?” 

“The scary clown.” She sniffed.

“Hey there aren’t any clowns here, it’s okay. What scary clown?” Phil ran his fingers through her hair soothingly and she blinked up at him.

“The one with red hair Uncle Martyn was watching on tv. The one under the street!”

Phil saw Dan’s arms stiffen and for once welcomed the murderous expression on his face. He made an executive decision not to stand in the way of the telling off Martyn would get and would possibly join in himself. 

Chloe looked up at him with wide, wet eyes. 

“He’s not real, little bug.” Dan rocked her gently. “I know that doesn’t make it any less scary sometimes though, and that’s okay. Maybe we should build a fort in the lounge and put on Totoro. Want us to sleep out there with you tonight?”

Her eyes lit up and she jumped to her feet. “Yeah! Can we get Spencer too?” 

Phil shook his head. “No, we better let him sleep or he’s going to be a crankypants.”

She jutted out her bottom lip and turned to stare at Dan. 

“But the clown..” 

“Baby, he’s not real. It’s okay that it scared you but he can’t actually hurt you or your brother, okay?” Dan grabbed her arms gently. 

“If you hurry to go bring your blankets and pillows to the lounge maybe we’ll pop some popcorn for the movie, yeah?”

Her face lit up into a wide grin and with an eager nod and small arms full of bedding she ran off towards the lounge.

Dan’s shoulders sank with a heavy sigh as he grinned over at Phil.

“I was going to offer her sleeping in our room but I’m going to bleach that bedding and her eyes and my eyes and all of our brains. Do you think that I covered it all?”

Phil burst into laughter. He shoved Dan lightly before helping him off of the bed.

“You did great and these things  _ happen _ . Let’s focus on plotting my brother’s murder for our daughter’s traumatization from Pennywise.” 

Dan pulled Phil close for a quick chaste kiss. “You’re right. Priorities. I have half a mind to call him now. Maybe I’ll set an alarm for three in the morning and say that’s when she woke us up and call him then.” 

“Go get our bedding you evil mastermind.” Phil pressed another kiss to Dan’s lips and made a mental note to hide his phone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can [ Reblog it on tumblr here if you'd like!!! ](https://tortitabby.tumblr.com/post/186606937845/firsts-first-late-night-interruption)

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have a strict schedule on uploading for this series but I plan on adding to it until them as parent's doesn't make me want to weep (So you're probably pretty safe)  
>  _That being said_ if you'd like to [ send me any prompts for the firsts series ](https://tortitabby.tumblr.com/ask) go ahead and do so on my tumblr! Anon or not, all ideas and requests are welcome and I'm excited to write them!  
> 


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